Education & Technology (and some History)

My Dog Dixie & the Cone of Shame (well, Neck Pillow of Shame)

On Monday, I noticed that my dog Dixie was licking her rear end a lot more than usual. As an english mastiff, this sound gets loud and quite gross very quickly. When I examined her rump, I noticed that the area was discolored and she was as ‘clean’ back there as she could be. I determined that the next morning, if it looked the same and she was still licking at it, that I would call the vet (Monday was July 4, a national holiday). Well, I got woken up all through the night by the perpetual licking sound and the next morning the area looked much worse. I was worried that she had an impacted or infected anal gland. While disgusting, if you have ever had a dog, you know the importance of working anal glands. When my vets office opened at 7:30 am, I gave them a call. My vet is fabulous, his name is Dr. Bearden located in Benbrook, TX. He knows our dogs well, their personalities, histories, temperaments, and he tolerates my calling him frequently over silly issues. Yes, I love my dogs. I love my dogs in the way that only a childless woman in her thirties can. They booked me an appointment for 10:00 that morning.

So, off to the vet we went. Now, one thing about both of my dogs is that they love going to the vet. All of it. You say vet and their ears perk up and they run up to their leads. They love the car ride, they love the smells, they love the people. I think what they really love about the vet is that he gives them a thorough exam, and they love physical affection (in terms of petting, patting, rubbing, etc). They also just love all people and they get to meet quite a few at the vet. He did a full exam on Dixie and determined that she didn’t have an impacted anal glad **phew** but rather a ‘hot spot.’ A hot spot is generally a patch of irritated skin that the dog makes worse by licking and scratching. He said they would take her in the back, shave her down, clean it up, apply some topical anesthetic to get her some relief, and empty her anal sacs (good times).

So, he brought Dixie back looking like this:

With the fur fully removed, you could really see the skin irritation! Poor Dixie. The doctor gave me some topical steroids, oral antibiotics, and a round of oral steroids. The vet said that if she kept licking, then she would have to be put in a cone of shame 😦

The next two nights, I was woken up to hear her slurping up a storm. I got up several times to get her to stop (she didn’t do it during the day). After the second day, I decided it was time to get the cone of shame. However, the Vet tech suggested that, since she would primarily be sleeping in this, I should try one of the inflatable collars as they’re more comfortable (but don’t provide quite as much protection). So, I went out bought Dixie a neck pillow of shame and a squeaky panda bear at the local Petsmart.

So, we tried it on her briefly and she looked okay:

However, now that it’s bedtime, it’s neck pillow of shame time and she is not happy. She just looks depressed!

She keeps pacing around the room, trying to get comfortable. She also keeps walking over to me, seemingly wanting to get it taken off. She is unhappy. Only a few nights of this girl, you can do it! It’s better than the alternative (the cone of shame) if you rip, tear, or otherwise escape the neck pillow shame.

I hadn’t heard of them either (and I’ve had dogs all my life), but apparently they’re fairly common (and on Wikipedia – I linked it above). I think that it’s just a catch-all phrase for skin irritation of indeterminate origin.
Yes, our dogs definitely live the good life. Not gonna lie, I spoil them.